Fur cleaning machine



May 7, 1968 H, c, BURGQ ET AL FUR CLEANI NG MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 5, 1966 zoooozoo OOOOOO O O O O O O O O O O O O May 7, 1968 H6 Q BURGO ET AL 3,381,507

FUR CLEANING MACHINE Filed March 5, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet NI DRYING CLEA NG May 7, 1968 H, C, BURGQ ET AL 3,381,507

FUR CLEANING MACHINE Filed March 5, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 CLEANING United States Patent O 3,381,507 FUR CLEANING MACHINE Harry W. Janson, Fairhaven, Mass., and Harold C.

Burgo, Po'tsmouth, RJ., assignors to Hoyt Manufacturng Corporation, Westport, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Mar. 3, 1966, Ser. No. 531,546 11 Claims. (Cl. 69-23) This invention relates to a variable volume fur cleaning machine for carrying out a cleaning and a drying operation in a single drum.

The conventional method of cleaning furs is to first tumble them in an unperforated, totally enclosed cylinder or drum along with a solvent impregnated medium or vehicle, such as sawdust or powder, which does the actual cleaning by virtue of its scrubbing action, and then to transfer them to an open mesh, woven wire cylinder or 'cage, usually of considerably larger capacity than the drum, where the sawdust or powder shakes out of the tumbling furs and is carried off to a filter or collector by fan-driven air flow, which also serves to aerate and deodorize them.

This method is objectionable, not only from the standpoint of the expense of requiring tWo machines and the waste of valuable floor space, but also from the standpoint of the inconvenience, messiness and waste of time and/ or labor involved in transferring the furs from one machine to the other.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a variable volume machine for cleaning furs which accomplishes both the cleaning and drying operations in a single machine thereby eliminating the need for an additional machine and the time and labor utilized in transferring the furs and converting the operation from one machine to another.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a variable volume fur cleaning machine employing a movable partition in which the power applied to rotate the drum is also utilized to move the partition thus eliminating the need for a second, separate power source.

The invention features a drum, rotatable on a shaft within a housing having an imperforate front section and a perforate rear section. A plurality of lead screws, arranged about the periphery of the drum parallel to the shaft, extend beyond the front end of the drum. Threaded members engaged by the lead screws and attached to a movable partition cause the partition to move along the lead screws as the screws are rotated. A pneumatic tube is disposed in an annular channel at the forward end of the housing. The lead screws have power transmitting means (wheels) on the end of their extended portions which are in longitudinal alignment with the pneumatic tube. There is contact between the pneumatic tube and the wheels only when the tube is infiated, at which time the rotational movement of the drum will be imparted to the lead screws.

Other objects, features, and advantages will appear from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, taken together with the attached drawings thereof, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side Sectional view of the fur cleaning machine taken along line 1-1 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 2 is a Sectional view along line 2-2 of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a Sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a Sectional view similar to FIG. 4 showing the pneumatic tube expanded;

FIG. 6 is a Sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a Sectional view taken along line 7-7 of FIG. l;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 9 is a Sectional view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. l.

There is shown in FIG. l a housing Ill having drum 12 rotatably mounted therein on shaft 14. Drum 12 is composed of an imperforated forward section 24 and a perforate rear section 26 shown in FIG. 2; rear head 28 is imperforate.

The front wall 3d of housing Iti contains a circular opening formed by inwardly turning lip 32. A door 34 of circular configuration, and having a ilared outer edge, seals said opening air tight by means of a polyurethane foam seal 35 interposed between door 3d and casing front ring 36. An air entrance damper 33, normally closed and sealed air tight by means of polyurethane foam seals, not shown, is automatically opened during the drying operation by means of electrically actuated damper motor 40 and levers d2. The forward end of drum 12 is partially closed by annular collar 44 which extends inwardly to the height of ribs d6. An outwardly turning lip 48 of annular collar 44 contacts felt seal Sti completing the drum enclosure.

In the lower portion of housing lil, a hood 5?. with a filter 54 is provided to receive the air flcw through damper 38 and perforated section 26 during the drying operation. The cleaning vehicle or medium is removed from the air by filter 54 as exhaust fan 56 driven by motor 5d forces the air out exhaust conduit 60.

Disposed in each rib d6 is a drive unit consisting of a lead screw 62 and drive shaft 64 shown in FIG. 9. Lead screw 62. is journaled in rear head 28 at 66 and extends more than half the length of drum 14.2 to permit a movable partition 68 supported by a threaded brass block 70 to be moved to the middle of drum 12. Drive shaft 64 is integrally joined with lead screw 6?. so that the two effectively form a single unit. Drive shaft 6d extends through annular collar AM at bearing '72 and carries a sprocket 74 and friction wheel 76 on its forwardmost portion beyond the annular collar 4d. Friction wheel 76 is generally formed of a resilient or rubber like material; both sprocket '74 and friction wheel 76 are keyed to drive shaft 61tand rotate with it as a unit..

Brass block '7d engages lead screw 62 by means of its internal threads and is attached to partition 68, shown in FIG. 9. Being secured against rotation with lead screw 62, brass block 'lil will traverse along lead screw 62 toward the rear or toward the front of drum IZ according to the direction of rotation of lead screw 62, thus moving partition 68 and increasing or decreasing the 'available volume of drum 12. A flexible polymer of tetrafiuoroethylene member 78 fastened to brass block 7d, shown in FIG. 8, extends outwardly from drum 12 for contact with one of the actuators 89 of limit Switches 82 fixedly positioned in the top of housing lil, within cover 34, when partition 63 reaches its forward-most or rear- Wardmost point of travel.

Brass block 70 extends through slot 86 in the face 88 of rib 46 to attach to partition 68. The slot is placed on face 88 for minimum interference with the tumbling furs during thedrying operation. In the drying operation drum 12. rotates in a clockwise direction thus making face 83 the lagging face. In the cleaning operation where drum IZ rotates in a counterclocirwise direction partition 68 is at its forward position and slot 36 is not encountered by the furs. Further prevention against the furs being caught in slot 86 is provided by slot cover 9d, retained in channel 92, which is attached to brass block '7d and is drawn along the inside of slot 86 sealing it from drum 12 as partition 68 moves rearward; cover 90 resides along the forward length of rib 46 when partition 68 is at its forward extreme. A seal 94 is provided about the periphery of partition 68 where it contacts the inner surface of drum 12 and ribs 45 to preserve the integrity of the separate sections.

Sprockets 74, in longitudinal alignment with each other, engage timing chain 96 which serves to maintain uniform rotation of drive shafts 64 thus insuring alignment of partition 68 with drum head 28 and preventing wrecking or binding of lead screws 62. Tension on chain 96 is maintained by the use of idler sprockets 98, 100, 102, and 104; idler $38, liit) and 102 are each welded to annular collar d4 while idler 104 is mounted on a bracket ltt adjustably mounted to annuar collar 44 by means of two screws fi passing through slot 110.

Disposed about the forward end of housing 1d is an annular channel 112, shown in FIGS. 4 and 6; channel 112 is generally U shaped with the open portion facing inwardly. Positioncd within channel 112 is an annular pneumatie tube 114 which is inilated through stem 116 upon actuation of electrically controlled valve 118.

When inflated, tube flr-iwill expand due to the constricton imposed on three sides by channel 112, and contact friction wheel '76 as shown in FIG. 5. As drum 12 rotates, friction wheels 7d are forced to rotate as they move along tube 114 thus causing rotation of drive shafts 64s and transverse movement of block '70 with partition 63.

The operation of damper motor 4d, fan motor 53, and mortor 13, and the suprevision of Switches 82 are coordinated by control 120. A timer programmed to effect a complete cycle including cleaning, drying and shutdown can serve as the control.

In operation, the furs to be cleaned and the cleaning vehicle are loaded into the drum, which has only one half its volume available due to partition 68 being at its forwardrnost position. After closing door 34, control 120 is set to start and drum 12 beings to rotate in a counterclockwise direction. During this, the cleaning operation, damper 38 is closed, fan 56 is inactive, tube 114 is uninflated and partition 68 is at its forwardmost position dividing drum 12 into two sections 24 and 26. After the cleaning operation, which normally lasts for about fifteen minutes, control 12% will stop the counterclockwise rotation of drum 12 and cause it to rotate in a clockwise direction. Simultaneously, control 120 will cause damper motor di? to open damper 38, open valve lll and energize motor 53 which activates fan 56. With the opening of valve 118, air under pressure is introduced into tube 114 causing it to expand and engage friction wheels '76.

The rnovement of friction wheels '76, driven by the clockwise rotation of drum .112, along expanded tube 114 causes fri-:tion wheels 76, thus drive shafts 64, to rotate in a counterclockwise direction. Lead screws 62, having right-hand threads, rotatiug in a counterclockwise direction will cause blocks 70 to move toward the rear of drum '12 until flexible member '7% contacts actuator 89 on the limit switch 82 which is at the rear of housing 12. Switch 82 directs the dellation of tube 1.1.4 thus disengaging the driving force from the lead screws 6?. and ;stopping partition 63. Air enters through damper 3d passes through perforated section 26 of drum 12 and through filter 54 and is exhausted by fan d through conduit tit).

After the drying operation is completed damper 38 is closed, fan motor 58 is deenergized and motor 18 is deenergized. Upon removal of the furs a reset condition may be initiated causing partition 68 to move forward until the forward limit switch 82 is contacted.

Other embodiments will occur to those skilled in the art and are within the following claims.

What is claimed is:

T.. A variable volume fur cleaning apparatus comprising:

CTI

a rotatable cylindrical drum, said drum having a forward section having an imperforate cylindrical wall and a rear section having a perforate cylindrical wall, an imperforate tranverse partition within said drum with its peripheral edges substantially in contact with the interior cylindrical wall of said drum, means mounting said partition for movement along the axis of said drum from a first position within said imperforate section to a second position near the rear end of said perforate section,

means for rotating said drum, and

means responsive to rotation of said drum for moving said partition axially of said drum from said first position to said second position, and back to said first position,

whereby a fur piece and a cleaning medium are retained in the imperforate Wall section during the tumbling cleaning action and upon movement of said partition to the rear of said drum, the cleaning medium will pass out of said drum through the perforate cylindrical wall.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising means for drawing air through said drum when said partition is in said second position. I

3. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising means for automatically cyclically activating said drum rotating means and said partition moving means.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising means for automatically limiting the axial movement of said partition.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 including a housing in which said drum resides, wherein said drum includes,

an imperforate rear head, the forward end of said drum being partially closed by an annular collar, said cylindrical walls of said drum including a plurality of spaced inwardly protruding lingitudinally extending ribs.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 in which:

said partition moving means includes a threaded member attached to said partition and a threaded shaft, with which said threaded member is engaged, journalled in said rear head and extending forward more than the axial length of said perforate rear section, a drive shaft integrally connected to said threaded shaft and extending through said annular collar, a friction means connected to the forward end of said drive shaft for rotation with said drive shaft as a unit, and an annular pneumatic member of flexible material disposed within said housing, in longitudinal alignment with said friction Ineans, and in position to frictionally engage said friction means when said pneumatic member is sufficiently inflated.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 further comprising timing rneans for coordinating operation of said rotating and partition moving means.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 in which said partition moving means further includes:

a plurality of said threaded and drive shafts mounted around said drum,

a plurality of sprockets in longitudinal alignment, one on the forward end of each of said threaded and drive shafts,

a timing chain mounted on said sprockets and a plurality of idler sprockets mounted on said annula' collar external to said drum, one disposed between each circumferentially adjacent pair of said sprockets, means movably mounting one of said idlers for adjustment of said one sprocket to maintain tension on said timing chain.

9. The apparatus of claim 5 further comprising means for drawing air through said drum including:

a loading door mounted on the front end of said housing, said door permitting access to said drum through the aperture in said annular collar,

5 Ei an electrically controlled vent disposed in said loadtravel including a switch at each end of said path actuing door, atable by said partition. the perforations in said rear section, land an exhaust vent in said housing, and References cited an exhaust fan communicating with said rear section and said exhaust vent.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 further comprising a no ;'1' cycle timing means for energizing said means for rO- 3,247'690 4/1966 Kh Ve a 68w27 tating said drum, and after a predetermined period of n time, causing said electrically controlled vent to be opened, 10 FOREIGN PATENTS said pneumatc member to be inflated and said fan to be 267,113 5 /1927 Great Britain.

energized.

11. The apparatus of claim 6 further cornp'ising limt- JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examer. ing means for causing defiation of said pneumatc member when said partition reaches the end of its path of 15 ALFRED R' GUEST Assistant Exammer' 

1. A VARIABLE VOLUME FUR CLEANING APPARATUS COMPRISING: A ROTATABLE CYLINDRICAL DRUM, SAID DRUM HAVING A FORWARD SECTION HAVING AN IMPERFORATE CYLINDRICAL WALL AND A REAR SECTION HAVING A PERFORATE CYLINDRICAL WALL, AN IMPERFORATE TRANVERSE PARTITION WITHIN SAID DRUM WITH ITS PERIPHERAL EDGES SUBSTANTIALLY IN CONTACT WITH THE INTERIOR CYLINDRICAL WALL OF SAID DRUM, MEANS MOUNTING SAID PARTITION FOR MOVEMENT ALONG THE AXIS OF SAID DRUM FROM A FIRST POSITION WITHIN SAID IMPERFORATE SECTION TO A SECOND POSITION NEAR THE REAR END OF SAID PERFORATE SECTION, MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID DRUM, AND MEANS RESPONSIVE TO ROTATION OF SAID DRUM FOR MOVING SAID PARTITION AXIALLY OF SAID DRUM FROM SAID 